Marcura - Experts & Thought Leaders

Marcura and CFARER have formed a strategic partnership connecting e-commerce procurement with technical operations for fleets worldwide. ShipServ becomes the recommended platform for Ship Manager Procurement, serving around 2,000 vessels, while VesselMan joins CFARER’s offering for digital dry-docking, inspections, and technical projects. Integration of ShipServ with Ship Manager Procurement  Many operators run capable purchasing software. Yet they face a fragmented supplier landscape. The integration of ShipServ with Ship Manager Procurement gives technical purchasing teams direct access to more than 50,000 pre-vetted suppliers from within existing workflows. Compliance checks, benchmarking, and e-invoicing run in the background. AI-supported insights highlight relevant and reliable suppliers based on performance history, quote quality, and delivery record. Procurement analytics and vessel-level reality VesselMan adds structured planning and execution for dry-dockings, inspections, and technical projects. Procurement timelines and yard plans align more closely, which improves predictability and reduces administrative work. A key insight for customers is the combination of procurement analytics and vessel-level reality. Marcura provides deep analytics for procurement. CFARER contributes on-board context through Ship Manager Technical and Ship Manager Analyser. Decisions based on this data reflect what is happening on the vessel, including maintenance status, open work orders, consumption patterns, and current spare holdings at the vessel and fleet level. This helps avoid over-stocking, reduces rush orders, and sources against real technical needs. Capability to CFARER’s broader client base “Procurement teams need control and timely access to the right suppliers. This partnership delivers both. A number of major shipping companies are already using ShipServ integrated with Ship Manager Procurement. We are now extending this capability to CFARER’s broader client base together,” Sharon Gill, Senior VP, Commercial and Partner Alliances, Marcura. “Our customers operate across every major segment of shipping. Marcura and CFARER share a best-of-breed approach with a strong focus on practical innovation. Together we help fleets work faster and with more confidence, at sea and ashore,” Stian Omli, Chief Commercial Officer, CFARER. End-to-end analytics across procurement Under the agreement, both companies will coordinate onboarding for joint clients. CFARER will exclusively recommend ShipServ for Ship Manager Procurement. VesselMan will be available to operators seeking digitised dry-docking, technical project management, and inspection workflows. Clients gain end-to-end analytics across procurement, maintenance, and QHSE through Ship Manager Analyser. Real-time maintenance This strategic partnership connects the maritime marketplace with the technical heartbeat of the vessel. This combination aligns purchasing with real-time maintenance needs and available spares. The result is faster sourcing, clearer accountability, and projects that stay on schedule.

MarTrust, part of Marcura, and the crew payments solution supporting more than 150,000 seafarers worldwide, has partnered with the International Seafarers’ Welfare and Assistance Network (ISWAN), the international not-for-profit maritime organisation providing 24/7 helplines and welfare resources for seafarers and their families. The partnership is designed to improve awareness and access to mental health and financial wellbeing support across the maritime sector. Strengthening crew welfare A financial donation from MarTrust will support ISWAN’s welfare and outreach programmes, including the launch of a new Power BI Dashboard. The dashboard will bring together data and insights from ISWAN’s helplines on key wellbeing themes such as financial strain, fatigue, isolation, and contractual concerns. It will help shipowners and managers better understand the pressures their crews face and take proactive measures to support them, while ensuring that ISWAN’s services remain relevant to the evolving needs of seafarers globally. ISWAN’s multilingual helplines Each year, ISWAN’s multilingual helplines are contacted by crew seeking practical and emotional support. Calls range from simple enquiries to complex issues involving family and financial worries, stress, fatigue, and at times thoughts of suicide. Many seafarers spend long periods at sea with limited connectivity and little awareness of where to turn for help. This challenge is particularly evident among younger crew, who are more likely to seek assistance through digital channels. As part of the partnership, ISWAN’s resources will now be made accessible directly through the MarTrust crew app, giving seafarers clear visibility of support options and guidance. A partnership that makes sense “We take around 450 new contacts each month, but that’s just a fraction of the seafarers who could benefit from our support,” said Simon Grainge, CEO of ISWAN. “Through this partnership, we can reach more crew digitally; at a moment when they’re often thinking about their money, their family, and their wellbeing; and connect them to the right help when they need it most.” Long-term collaboration “Financial worries are a major cause of anxiety both on board and at home,” added Stuart Gregory, CEO of MarTrust. “By working with ISWAN, we can connect more crew to trusted support at the moment they need it and remove unnecessary stress from daily life at sea. This partnership allows us to combine our digital platform with ISWAN’s expertise to make a tangible difference to seafarer wellbeing around the world.” Both organisations emphasise that this is the beginning of a long-term collaboration. Beyond integrating welfare content, the partnership will explore ways to scale awareness of crew welfare resources, co-create future digital tools, and increase industry engagement through shared data insights.

Maritime companies are stuck in the early stages of AI adoption, unable to scale beyond small experiments as widespread optimism collides with implementation reality, according to new industry research. The study “Beyond the Hype: What the maritime industry really thinks about AI” by Thetius in partnership with Marcura, a pioneering maritime technology and services provider, combines over 130 survey responses and in-depth interviews with maritime professionals. Benefits in reducing manual workflow 69% believe that AI solutions might miss critical red flags in contracts or voyage planning It reveals a sector that is both eager and cautious: 82% are optimistic about AI and 81% are running pilot projects, yet 37% have personally witnessed AI failures and only 11% have formal policies to guide scaling. The research identified clear consensus on where AI delivers value: 97% see benefits in reducing manual workflow inefficiencies, 87% in charter party contract analysis, and identifying risky voyage decisions. However, 69% believe that AI solutions might miss critical red flags in contracts or voyage planning, leading to poor business outcomes. Invested in building AI on maritime data "A general AI agent might say that SF means standard form, but in shipping, it means stowage factor,” explained Janani Yagnamurthy, VP Analytics at Marcura. "Off-the-shelf solutions might automate basic processes, but they miss the nuanced context that maritime professionals rely on. That's why we've invested in building AI specifically trained on maritime data, language, and workflows rather than trying to adapt generic tools." AI and human expertise together drive real wins Despite their general enthusiasm for AI, maritime experts overwhelmingly reject full automation Despite their general enthusiasm for AI, maritime professionals overwhelmingly reject full automation. 70% believe AI should recommend actions but humans should always make the final decision, while 66% are concerned about overreliance on the technology eroding human skills and judgement. "When change happens, it’s very natural to fear losing control. Skilled maritime professionals have spent decades honing their judgement in high-stakes roles like chartering and operations," explained Janani Yagnamurthy, VP Analytics at Marcura. "The best AI functions like a co-pilot, not a replacement, providing insights but always leaving the final decision up to the professional who understands the full context. As seen in some legal cases, relying on AI without human oversight can cause errors and even cross into professional misconduct." Maritime-specific solutions break through Marcura's approach differs from generic AI providers by embedding AI agents directly within maritime While generic AI implementations struggle, purpose-built maritime solutions are demonstrating clear value. Marcura's AI-powered charter party analysis helped one dry bulk operator avoid over $120,000 in potential losses by identifying four critical clauses missing from a draft agreement. Marcura's approach differs from generic AI providers by embedding AI agents directly within maritime workflows and training specifically on maritime language and contract structures, with each client's data kept in isolated, secure environments. Scaling requires strategy, not just enthusiasm The study identified inadequate training as the biggest barrier to scaling, cited by 38% of respondents. The governance gap is equally stark: while 81% run pilots, only 17% have transparent processes for how AI makes decisions within their organisations. Nearly a quarter express concerns about vendor claims outpacing real-world results.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is having a profound and multifaceted impact throughout the business world, driving a transformation across all sectors by significantly increasing efficiency, enabling data-driven decision-making, and fostering innovation. Maritime is one of the many industries that are already benefiting from deploying AI. In the future, the potential is even bigger. In maritime as in many other markets, the key to success is balancing the use of AI with human labour. The current trend is to augment human work through automation of routine tasks and the creation of new business models. We asked our Expert Panel Roundtable: How can the maritime industry benefit from applying artificial intelligence (AI)? Please provide some examples.